Every Word Sounds Absurd

I felt horrible. I felt guilty. I'd been so rude to Harry, the look on his face was haunting my every thought. The hurt and rejection in his eyes; I felt my chest tighten and my stomach fill with bile. I did not do well with the feeling of guilt.

I had asked for a pass during second hour, rushing to the lady's room and locking myself in a stall and holding into my stomach as it wrenched, tears filling my eyes.

I'd been rude. I'd insulted him. I acted like my mother. I let out a gasp, an attempt to hold back a sob as I let the tears fall freely down my cheeks for the second time that morning already. I wasn't mean. I wasn't insulting. I never tried to hurt anyone in my life.

I needed to apologize. I didn't want Harry to be even slightly upset over me, despite his behavior. I couldn't live with myself if I'd hurt him even in the slightest.



I sat in that stall through third hour, rushing to fourth to find that we would not be dressing out, giving me no chance to speak with Harry. I ran to the canteen for lunch, Niall quickly catching my eye as he stood in line, piling his plate quite high with food. "Niall.." I said breathlessly, grabbing his shoulder gently as I finally reached him. He gave me a worried look, grabbing my hand gently and tugging me over to an empty table, pulling out a chair for me. I muttered a soft 'thank you' as he seated himself, not bothering to touch his food yet. "You look worried, babe. What's happened?" His hand rested gently over mine, rubbing small, soft circles on the back of it with his thumb.

"I..I feel guilty, Niall..." I murmured in a small voice, not looking him in the eye. "What if I hurt Harry's feelings? I-I had no right to snap at him like that... Where is he?" I explained as I came to a realization. My head snapped up, my eyes scanning the room for the curly haired, mischievous boy. "You did have a right though, sweetheart. He crossed a line. He over stepped his boundaries with you and you put him in his place. To Hell with his 'feelings'."

Niall's voice had become stern, his face contorting into a frown. "But Niall-" he cut me off with his forefinger, placing it gently over my lips. "No but's, baby. It'll all be alright." I felt my heart flutter at the pet names he used on me, a rosie blush creeping onto my cheeks as his hands moved to caress them gently, his eyes filled with an emotion I couldn't identify. "You are so beautiful..." he whispered, leaning in slightly. My eyes widened as his face inched closer to mine, my heart rate picking up quickly. Just as Niall's lips were to touch mine, he slightly angled his face, his lips instead meeting my cheek gently. My heart pounded painfully against my ribcage; it was loud in my ears, and I was sure that Niall had heard it. He pulled himself away, a small smile on his lips as he retracted his hand and began to eat his lunch.

My cheeks were now a deep crimson as I stared down at my hands until the bell sounded for French. Niall walked me to class, his arm wrapped gently around my waist as he held me close to his side. We stepped into class together, Niall pulling out my chair for me before seating himself. His hand laid gently over mine under the table, his thumb tracing soft, invisible circles onto the surface.

"Bonjour, enfants! Ça va bien?" Mr. Lawson called as class began, a giant grin on his lips. There were small choruses of 'oui's' and 'commçi commcà's', Niall and I both staying quiet in the back by ourselves. "I have your test results, young ones!" The class groaned sequentially as Mr. Lawson boomed with laughter, holding up the grade sheet in his hand. "And I'm proud to say that our newest pupil, Ms. Cosmos, had the highest grade of all! 29 out 30! Let's have a round of applause, yes?"

My cheeks turned beet red as the whole class clapped for me, my embarrassment rising quickly. Niall chuckled softly, leaning in and kissing my temple lovingly, whispering a soft 'brilliant, love' in my ear. I buried my face in his neck and shoulder, my breath shallow and soft as he wrapped his arm fully around my waist. "This is so embarrassing..." I mumbled, my voice squeaking softly at the end. "How so?" Niall questioned, brushing a stray strand of hair from my face, kissing my red cheek once more. "Everyone looked at and clapped for me.. It felt.. Weird..."

Niall smiled warmly at me as the lights were lowered, Mr. Lawson putting in his disk copy of Cyrano de Bergerac into his laptop, the film appearing on the screen before us from a projector. "You'll need to get used to that kind of attention, love. You're beautiful, and I'm sure everyone's noticed." I let out a soft, muffled groan as I pulled away from him and watched the film, our hands still intertwined in his lap.



Class let out and I walked out hand in hand with Niall, still fussing about Harry. I turned to face Niall, a sad look on my face a he gave me a reassuring smile, cupping my cheeks in his large hands and tracing soft, invisible circles onto them. "All is well, Annie. He'll be alright." His lips touched gently to my forehead, lingering there for a few seconds in a loving kiss. I looked up at Niall as he pulled away, his eyes smiling as did his rose colored lips. He opened his mouth slightly as if he wanted to speak, but then closed it again, his aquamarine irises boring into my caramel ones with such passion. "Go.." he whispered hoarsely, pulling away completely. "I don't want you to be late."

Niall walked away from me quickly, practically running. I felt my heart drop, a sad look creeping onto my features. I honestly felt like crying, but I hadn't any time. Mr. Worthington's law class was almost completely full when I entered, my eyes immediately darting to my seat and the one next to it that was currently empty.

I felt my lip quiver as I looked down at my penny loafers, taking small steps towards my seat. I stared out the large wall of windows in the class room, Mr. Worthington droning on about family law and the subject of alimony. "Ms. Cosmos!" I was torn away from my thoughts by my Mr. Worthington's shout, a stern look on his face as he eyed me. "I see you find the rain much more interesting than you do my class." he announced, earning a round of chuckles from the class. "Would you mind telling us all what alimony is, Anastasia?"

"It's an obligation that arises from divorce law.." I said in a small voice, looking down at my hands. "It's when an ex-husband or wife pay the other to ensure their lodging and other necessities..." Mr. Worthington's jaw tightened as I spoke, murmuring "Very well than..." as he walked back to his desk.

The second class was over, I was out the door and in my Astronomy class, only to be greeted by a grinning Liam. "Hello, sweetheart." he welcomed as I took my seat. "Do you know where Harry's room is?" I asked him softly. His face fell slightly, a frown appearing on his lips. "It's in the fourth boy's corridor. All the way a the end of the hall, room 469."

"Liam, aye! Sorry I wasn't 'ere yestaday, had a bit of a cold." I looked up and was met with warm hazel eyes, a small smile forming on the tan young man's lips. "You must be Anastasia. I'm Zayn." he introduced, taking the seat adjacent to my own. "Hi.." I said softly, a blush now on my cheeks.

Liam and Zayn went on the whole class talking over me, my mind elsewhere. Mr. Holloway had turned on his projector, explaining the alignment of the Pleiades constellation and their relevance throughout history. The bell rang after what felt like just minutes, Liam and Zayn parting ways with me as I went on a quest to find Mr. Styles.

I followed Liam's directions exactly, coming to the end of the fourth corridor, find 469 to my right. I lifted my hand to knock on his door, an apology on the tip of my tongue, when I felt my heart sort of crumble. "Oh, Harry.." I heard hoarse, unattractive female voice moan out. "Shut up.." a male voice I was familiar with as Harry's groan. The sound of a bed squeaking and obviously hitting against the wall in a steady pattern making me gasp to myself, my feet backing me far away from the door.

Tears pricked in my eyes, my hand once again covering my mouth to hold back a sob. He wasn't bothered. He didn't care. I didn't matter.

My feet carried me quickly out of the hall, and before I knew it, I was running. I ran out into the rain, a strangled sob escaping my lips, a pair of arms wrapping around me firmly. "Shh, baby, it's alright..." they cooed softy in my ear, their Irish accent prevalent as they spoke. "Ni..Niall.. I..I thought I'd mattered..." I hiccuped, the pouring rain cascading down around us. "I was so wrong... Why did I even bother..."

Niall pressed his lips firmly against my temple, holding me close to his chest as he his hands ran up and down my back in a soothing motion. "You do, baby.. You do to me... He doesn't deserve your beautiful tears, Annie... Harry's not worth any of this..."

I clung to him like his wet blazer, his nose nuzzling into my hair, kissing it repeatedly. He picked me up in the style of newlyweds, carrying me inside and into his room. "What's happened?!" a voice I recognized as Louis' gasped as we entered the room. "Another time, Lou. Help me get her dry." They sat me on what I believe was Niall's bed, wrapping dry towels around my body.

"W..why d..do you ca..care so much, N..Niall?" I whispered, my teeth chattering from the cold. He knelt down in front of me, a sad look in his beautiful blue eyes. "Because you're different, Anastasia... You..you make me feel..different..."

Our eyes locked immediately, my lip quivering, the tears yet again streaming down my cheeks. I pulled him into a tight hug, his arms wrapping firmly around my waist.

He cares...